Sosuke is a five year old boy who lives on a cliff. One day,
he rescues a strange looking goldfish and names her Ponyo
after taking a great liking to her, and promises to protect
her forever. Unknown to him, Ponyo is a magic fish and she
decides that she wants to live with Sosuke. Unfortunately,
Ponyo's decision to give up her underwater life creates a
crack in an ancient magic spell and places the world in danger.
Together, Sosuke and Ponyo must set things right.
Movie Review:

Much like Pixar is revered in Hollywood as the undisputed
producer of high-quality 3D animated films, Studio Ghibli
certainly deserves its status as the gold standard as far
as Japanese anime is concerned. What makes the achievement
even more remarkable is that Studio Ghibli still relies on
traditional hand-drawn 2D animation for the majority of its
anime films. Its latest anime feature "Ponyo on the Cliff
by the Sea" not only maintains this tradition, it raises
the bar even higher by having the entire anime made using
hand-drawn animation, of which a whopping 170,000 images were
used.

For this feature, director-writer Hayao Miyazaki has chosen
to reinterpret the age-old Little Mermaid tale by introducing
us to Ponyo, a goldfish with a human face who yearns to be
entirely human. Through a twist of fate, she gets to befriend
a 5-year-old boy named Sosuke. After being held captive by
her father Fujimoto, Ponyo escapes while transforming herself
into a human girl through the use of Fujimoto's magic, resulting
in a huge thunderstorm and massive flood for upsetting the
balance of the human world and sea world due to her transformation.
Sosuke and Ponyo find themselves not only in a quest to reunite
with each other, but to restore the balance of the two worlds
as well.

As anime enthusiasts would know, Miyazaki is known for including
nature and friendship themes in his works. "Ponyo on
the Cliff by the Sea" is by no means an exception to
the rule. The sea plays a large part in the film as if it
is a character, which is beautifully hand-drawn and animated
by Miyazaki himself. The overall storyline is solely focused
on the relationship between Ponyo and Sosuke, further simplifying
the plot for the benefit of child viewers. The other Miyazaki
trademark of uniquely interesting characters is also in abundance
here. From Ponyo's little siblings, the wave demons to Ponyo
herself, there is never a dull moment when these characters
appear onscreen. Miyazaki even takes inspiration from his
own loved ones in creating two of the human characters: Sosuke
is based on his son Goro when Goro was 5 years old, whereas
Toki, the unpleasant old lady in the old folks' home where
Sosuke's mother works, is actually based on Miyazaki's mother.

One of the minor complaints I have about the film is its lack
of tension, considering the fact that it is partly an adventure
film. When Ponyo and Sosuke set out to search for Sosuke's
mother across the flooded areas after the thunderstorm, there
is never any sense of impending danger. Instead, they are
shown having a relaxing time cruising around while animal-watching
and meeting people. The other issue is that there is no elaboration
on how Sosuke's mother and the old ladies from the old folks'
home end up where they are near the film's final moments.
One could argue that this is after all, a children's movie,
so the absence of tension and exposition is still forgivable,
but adult viewers who have higher expectations may disagree.

Having said that, it is best to enjoy the film for what it
is. A simple story of friendship filled with endearing characters
fit for children of all ages. If the bright and lively watercoloured
visuals can't grab their attention, perhaps the energetic
voiceovers will. One of the strengths that Japanese anime
has over Western animated films are the excellent voice casting
which does not bank on star power, allowing the audience to
appreciate the film more for its content rather than noting
whose voices are behind the scenes. Suspension of disbelief
is also required, so you can stop wondering how Fujimoto,
who is obviously human, can have Ponyo the goldfish as his
daughter.

If you are a fan of Miyazaki's previous works such as "My
Neighbour Totoro" and "Spirited Away", you
won’t be disappointed with this one. In fact, you might find
yourself singing along to the Ponyo theme song and getting
yourself a Ponyo toy after you leave the cinema.

Movie
Rating:

(Anime master Hayao Miyazaki delivers yet again, so
kids can surely flock along to the cinemas to see the cute
and lovable Ponyo as part of the new year celebration)